Only Human
by MizJade
Summary: The first time Lily realizes that her brother isn't invincible. Next-gen. One-shot. Edited.


**Disclaimer: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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It took Lily a total of five seconds to shoot up from her seat and start running towards the pitch after watching her brother plummet to the ground from his broom.

It felt like years, but it was only took minutes for her to get there followed by every Weasley, Scamander and Longbottom still at Hogwarts and not on the team.

It felt like she couldn't breathe and somewhere, distantly, a little voice inside of her head was telling her that breathing was something she _needed_ to do. But breathing normally was the last thing on her mind as she struggled through the crowd of Quidditch players to get to her brother's side.

"James" she whispered as soon as she broke through. "Oh god, James."

Seconds later she felt hands grip her shoulder's tightly and there was Albus in the green robes of the Slytherin seeker.

She had never, _ever_ wanted to see this. _Never._ It just wasn't possible that someone who she had always thought of as invincible and stronger then everyone in the whole-wide world (except maybe daddy) could be lying like that on the cold wet grass his arms twisted wrong his legs bent oddly while he bleed on the field.

Lily wasn't a child was more then aware that no one was really invincible. She also enough perfectly well that he would probably be perfectly fine in a week or so. But that didn't change that horrible feeling at the bottom of her heart, that feeling you get when you suddenly realize that your hero is only human and it is, in fact, quite possible for your hero to break. It was a feeling she never wanted to feel again.

"James?" she whispered kneeling down next to him. Distantly her mind registered that Albus was next to her, looking just as scared as she did. She gripped his hand tightly and he almost broke hers in return, though at the time neither noticed.

"Out of the way. All of you!" A sharp voice broke through Lily's panicked haze. "Some one run and tell Madam Miriam!" one of the Gryffindor Quidditch players pulled away from the crowd and ran towards the castle. "Miss Potter, Mr. Potter you're going to have to move." McGonagall said her normally sharp voice oddly soothing.

But Lily wouldn't move. She couldn't. She just couldn't leave her brother there, like that that. Alone and broken. Albus made no attempt to move either.

McGonagall sighed and looked at the crowd behind her, "Someone escort the Potter siblings up to the castle"

Scorpius stepped forward and pulled Albus to his feet gently, he didn't protest. Maybe because he knew there was no way he could help his brother or maybe because he was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice.

Lily, on the other hand was harder to persuade, refusing to move until Louis and Hugo were forced to bend down and pick her right off the ground and half carry her to the castle.

"He's going to be okay Lily" Freddie told her for what felt like the hundredth time since they had managed to get her to sit quietly outside the Hospital Wing, waiting for news. When all of his siblings, cousins and extended family had tried to sit by his side Madam Miriam had banished them all from the room. "Really, I've seen Madam Miriam heal much worse."

Lily gave him a tearful look "No you haven't" she accused.

"Not true" Emma added. She was sitting next to Lily, holding her hand tightly. "Trust me, James has done a lot of stupid things. He's had a lot worse."

Lily looked away, silent tears still trailing down her face. That was _not_ what she wanted to hear right now.

"Oh Lily, _please_ stop crying" Rose cried desperately tears trailing down her own cheeks. "I _promise _he'll be okay."

Lily knew that the only way she would ever believe that was if James told her himself.

A few hours later Miriam allowed Albus and Lily into see their brother and she immediately ran to his side to see he was almost as good as new. "Hey." she told him wetly.

He gave her a goofy, smile back, clearly very groggy "Did we win?" he asked in a horse voice.

Albus chuckled light and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Sorry mate, but once again my Quidditch skills greatly out master yours." he teased lightly.

James frowned, he had not taken his eyes off of his sister. "Is that why Lily's crying?" he asked startling a wet laugh out of his sister.

A few days later he was out of the Hospital wing, in near-perfect health. But Lily didn't think _she _would ever heal very well from that incident.

That summer, one night while her mother was cutting her hair Lily asked "When was the first time for you?"

Of course, thinking that she meant something _very_ different Ginny stopped snipping her daughters hair at once. "I'm sorry?" she managed to spit out.

"When was the first time you realized that you're older brothers weren't invincible?" Lily asked, unaware of her mother's reaction.

Ginny was silent for a long time before she said "When I was eight and your uncle Charlie fell from a tree. He shattered the bone in his right arm, it was really difficult to heal. Mom- Grandma rushed him to St. Mungo's" she paused "I think his arms still hurts him sometimes."

"Oh" Lily said and quietly thought it over for a few minutes "Were you scared?"

"Yes" Ginny replied. "I still am."

When she heard the pain in her mother's voice, she almost wished she hadn't asked. Because she forgotten, for a moment, that her mother had lost a brother in the war. It was a pain she had never quite soothed.

It scared Lily even more then even her brother's fall for now she knew, not only could James be hurt... but he could die.

And that was something she never wanted to think about again. But she knew it was true.

Her brother -brother_s- were_ only human.


End file.
